Cities Gastro Pub

No, this blog has nothing to do with flatulence. The gastro pub is a rising trend in North America, meaning ‘gastronomical pub’ or ‘food pub’. It’s a hybrid between a restaurant and a pub, somewhere to go for a great selection of drinks and some outstanding food at the same time.

Restaurant 27 owners closed the higher end restaurant and did a quick reno to revamp the location to a more relaxed environment before reopening as Cities. The decor is still sophisticated without the cheap feeling of some of the newer pubs in the city today and welcomes more people than just those looking for a fine dining experience as with 27.

Their drink menu features 60-some different beers from around the world, as well as a few varieties of Caesar’s and other cocktails. The food menu also consists of different culturally inspired dishes with local, fresh ingredients, which was one of my favorite things about the former Restaurant 27.

A friend recommended the Watermelon Feta salad which I definitely had to try. I only ordered a small order because some appetizers and dessert looked too good to pass up. The appetizer of choice? A bucket of bacon. Yes you heard me correctly…a BUCKET of BACON, with a side of maple syrup. It was the Sunday special for $4 (apparently the not wanting to put bad food in my body phase has ended…oops). It was everything that good Canadian bacon should be, which is amazing. It’s been a long time since I’ve had bacon and nothing beats a bucket of it.

Next up was the salad. Even the small size was huge. I liked that they automatically left the dressing on the side as I forgot to ask for that. The basil and balsamic dressing was really thick but super good, I wish I could recreate it. Then I would make the salad myself but with goat cheese instead of feta. I’ve definitely replaced my love of feta with goat cheese, can’t beat it.

After that we had to find some room for dessert because the Junkyard Pie just had to be eaten by several of us. The menu states this pie is a whipped white chocolate mousse but it was actually an ice cream cake with an Oreo cookie crust and filled with chunks of Wunderbar, Twix and Snickers. So good. I really wanted to try the Coffee and a Bacon Doughnut, but no one else was interested in it and there was no way I could eat it alone. What’s in that one, you ask? It’s a homemade doughnut filled with apple and bacon, topped with a bacon maple glaze with espresso ice cream. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to try that? In fact, Cities Gastro Pub is literally across the street from my apartment and I think I can hear that dessert screaming my name. It’s very hard not to walk over there and order one…..

That being said, if you’re in Red Deer and you are looking for a good beer, some funky eats or just have a hankering for some bacon, Cities is your place.